Transit concrete mixer



Jul 18, 1933. H. P. PARES TRANSIT CONCRETE MIXER Filed March 14, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 a Qt Ilium-$155.3: .2.

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TRANS IT CONCRETE MIXER Filed March 14, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 18, 1933. H. P. PARlS v TRANSIT CONCRETE MIXER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 14, 1930 gwucntoz July 18, 1933.

H. P. PARls TRANS IT CONCRETE MIXER Filed March 14, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I I f A I I I i L45. U r0 llHllllHHHJIIIHIHIIIII H 7. i 45% L Patented July 18, 1933 imam UNITED STATES PATENT orrice HUGH P. PARIS, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. ASSIGNDR TO PARIS TRANSIT MIXER- COMPANYQOF SEATTLE, WASHING-TON, A. CORPORATION Q1 WASHING-TON TRANSIT GGN CR ETE MIXER Application filed March 14, 1930. Serial N0."435,740.

This invention relates to improvements in,

transit concrete mixers, having more particu lar reference to improvements in the type of transit Concrete mixers disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application for United States Letters Patent; filed November 13, 1928, Serial No. 319,067, and the primary aim and fundamental object of the present invention is the provision of a transit concrete mixer having a sectional mixing shell especially designed and adaptable for rapid and ready conversion to an open dump body and vice versa.

contemplated by the present invention is a transit concrete mixer embodying an automotive vehicle chassis; a dumping or supplemental frame mounted for longitudinal and rearwardly tilting movement upon said chassis; mechanism actuated by the power plant of the vehicle for moving the supplemental frame into and out of dumping positions; a mixing shell eccentrically and revolvably mounted upon said supplemental frame, said shell being preferably polygonal in crosssection and longitudinally divided into separable sections, one of which is slightly smaller than the other and is removable therefrom, whereby the complemented larger section may be utilized as a dump body when desired; means carried by the smaller removable section of the mixing shell for facilitating mixing of the aggregates; means for charging and discharging the mixing shell, which also functions for discharging the larger section of the latter when same is used as a dump body; and mechanism actuated by the power plant of the vehicle for rotating the shell during mixing operations; all of which are to be correlated 1n the broad aim of enhancing the efficiency of my convertible unit for use either as transit concrete mixer or as a dump truck.

The above, and additional objects which With reference to the drawings in' which there is illustrated one embodiment of the invention, and throughout theseveral views of which like characters of reference desig nate similar parts.

Figure lis a side elevation of a transit mixer comprehended by the present invention, with the mixer shell shown in normal mixing position in full lines and in dumping position indottedlines' y 1 Fig. 2 a similar elevation with part of the mixer shell removed andthe remaining part utilized as a dump body.

Fig. 3 is a rearend elevation ofthe transit mixer. I

Fig. l is a vertical transverse section taken through line 4+4 of Fig. 1

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a top planview of the dumping supplemental frame of the transit mixer, with the mixing shell removed and certain parts being broken away and certain other parts shown in section for'clarity of illustration. Y

Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through line 7- 7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section taken through line 88 of F ig. 6.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical transverse section taken through line 9 9 ofFigfl'. I

Fig. 10 is a vertical transverse section'of the mixing shell taken through line 101O of Fig. 5.

Fig. 11 is an inverted plan view of the side door of the mixing shell.

Fig. 12 is a vertical transverse section taken through line 12120f Fig. 11. r

Fig. 18 is a view in perspective of the removable part of the mixing shell, as it would appear when detached, and

Fig. 14: is an enlarged fragmentarylongie tudinal section taken through line let- 14: of Fg. 3, illustrating more clearly the mode of abutment of the side and end doors of the mixing shell.

Before taking up the detailed description of the drawings, a general. exposition of the specific purposes, features and functions of the transit concrete mixer evolved by the present invention will be undertaken. Heretofore, in some instances, it has been customary for operators or owners of transit concrete mixers when times were dull in concrete construction work, or when they were in need of straight dump equipment, to remove the mixing shells and their accessories from their correlated truck chassis and re place same with standard dump bodies for general haulage work; this however entails considerable time and expense in making the change over in addition to the initial cost of dump bodies. It is therefore, a primary object of this invention to eliminate the cost and necessity of extra dump bodies and reduce to the minimum the expense of con verting transit concrete mixer units to dump trucks or vice-versa, by providing such units with mixing shells capable of being readily and rapidly converted into and utilized as dump bodies for general haulage of bulk materials such as sand, gravel, stone, coal, lumber, or the like, thus giving their correlated truck chassis dual usage. Beginning now the more detailed description of the invention by reference to the accompanying drawings, the numeral designates the chassis frame of a motor truck, 21 the truck rear wheels, 22 the drivers cab, 24 the truck gear transmission and 25 a power take-off operatively connected to said gear transmission in any well-known manner.

Superimposed upon and rigidly secured to the sides of the chassis frame 20 are trackways 26,-preferably fabricated from angle iron and disposed upon said frame substantially in the manner more clearly shown in Fig. 8. The trackways 26 extend from points adjacent the rear of the drivers cab 22 to the rear end of the chassis frame 20,as will be noted by referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 5.,

Mounted for longitudinal and rearwardly tilting movement upon the chassis frame 20 is a dumping or supplemental frame 27, the sides of which are preferably fabricated from channel iron and are adapted to be disposed superjacent the trackways 26, in the manner more clearly illustrated in Fig. 8. Interposed between the sides of the supplemental frame 27 and the trackways 26, are a series of rollers 29, which latter are rotatively mounted at spaced intervals within the in verted channeled sides of the frame 27 and are adapted to roll upon the trackways 26, with their sides normally abutting the vertical portions of said trackways, to there by prevent sidewise dislodgment of the supplemental frame 27 upon the chassis frame Rigidly secured to the sides of the chassis frame 20 adjacent its rear end are upwardly extendinghinge plates 30 having rearwardly and downwardly extending arcuate slots 31 formed within their upper portions, wherein rollers 32 are adapted to roll, said rollers being journalled for rotation upon bearin gs or brackets 32 rigidly secured to tie upper faces of the inverted channel sides of the supplemental frame 27 adjacent the rear end thereof. In the present instance the rollers 32 function as a moving pivot for the supplemental frame 27 and readily permit longitudinally and rearwardly tilting movement of the same relative to the chassis frame 20, as will be manifest and apparent by referring to Figs. 1 and 2.

Revolvably mounted upon the supplemen-' tal frame 27 is a longitudinally disposed mixing shell or drum 33, which is polygonal in cross-section and for purposes of the present disclosure is preferably illustrated and hereinafter described as being of hexagonal formation. The shell 33 is longitudinally divided into separable flanged sections 34 and 35, respectively, which are detachably con nected, as by bolts 36. In the present instanc the shell 33 .is longitudinally divided on a line, as at 37, which line is oifsetand angularly disposed relative to the axis of said shell, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 5. By thus fabricating the shell33, in the manner described the section 3 1 is somewhat larger than the section 35, as willbe observed by referring to Figs. 1 and 5.

Eccentrically mounted upon the forward closed end of the shell 33 is a trunnion ring or annular raceway 38, which latter is rigidly secured thereat in any well-known manner to the larger section 3a of said shell. The trunnion ring 38 is cradled or supported for rotation upon idler rollers 39 rotatively mounted upon the arched and channeled forward end of the supplemental frame 27. To take axial or end thrust of the shell 33 when the correlated vehicle thereof is travelling up or down grades, or when the supplei'nental frame is tilted I provide the idler rollers 39 with peripheral grooves 40, wherein a flange 41, integrally formed or otherwise rigidly secured to the trunnion ring 38, is adapted to seat and normally abut the sides thereof. Eccentrically mounted upon the rear end of the shell 33 and fixedly secured thereat to the larger section 34, is atrunnion 42 journalled for rotation in a bearing-43 mounted upon the upper end of an A-shaped frame let, which latter forms and constitutes the rear end of the supplemental frame 27. F rom the foregoing and by referring to Figs. 1 and 5, it will be noted that the axis of the trunnion ring 38 is disposed below the axis of the shell 33, and the axis of the trunnion 42 is disposed above'the axis of the shell, so that such axes are in alignment and their axial line is angularly disposed'relative to the shell axis, this for the purpose of providing a wobbling action for the shell 33 during rotation thereof. It will also be noted that by cradlingthe forward end of the shell 33 upon the rollers 39 and journalling the rear end of same in the bearing lSin the manner shown and described, a three point suspension is provided for the shell 33, this for the purpose of obtaining the lowest point of support for the forwardend of the shell, and also for the purpose of facilitating charging and discharging of the shell at its rear end.

The section. 3% of the shell 33 at its rear end and at the juncture of its central side panels, is provided with a medially disposed triangular shaped Opening 45 for charging and dischar ing the shell, said openingv being normally closed by a rectangular door 46 slidably mounted in longitudinally disposed guideways at? rigidly secured to and extending outwardly in spaced parallel relation from the central side panels, aforementioned, said guideways at their forward ends being reinforced and maintained in spaced parallel relation by braces 48. To effect rapid and readyopening and closing of the door l6 1 provide the same with a rack 49 having'a pinion 50 meshing therewith, which latter is fixedly secured to a transversely disposed shaft 51 journalled at its ends for rotation withinbearings 52 rigidly secured to the outer faces ofthe guideways 47, see Figs. 3 and 11. The shaft is connected by bevel gearing 53 to a longitudinally disposed and rearwardly extending shaft 54 journalled in spaced bearings 55 rigidly secured to the outer side of one of the guideways 47, see 11 and at its outer or rear end said last mentioned shaft is provided with a square terminal 56for. the reception of a socket wrench or the like. Obviously, therefore by rotating the shaft 54 rectilinear movement is imparted to the door 46 to open and close same. I

Formed in the lower portion of the rear wall of the shell section 34 is a medially disposed rectangular opening 57, also for charging and discharging the shell 33, said opening communicating with and being substantially an extension of the opening 45 and being normally closed by a rectangular door 58 slidably mounted in vertically disposed guideways 58 rigidly secured in spaced parallel relation to the rear wall of the shell section 34. To open and close the door 58 I provide same with a rack 59 having a pinion 60 meshing therewith, which is fixedly secured to a transversely disposed shaft 61 journalled for rotation in bearings 62 similarly secured to the rear wall of the shell section 34. said shaft having a square terminal, as at 63. for the reception of a socket wrench or the like. h'flanifestly, rotation of the shaft 61 imparts rectilinear movement to the door to effect opening and closing of same. In the present construction the door-46 at its rear end is adapted when close to extend slightly H beyond the rear wall of the shell section 34, see Fig. i l, this for the purpose of providing an abutment for the lower edge of the door 58 whenclosed, and to secure a tight joint at the juncture of said doors.

contacts with the rear edge of the door 46, substantially as shown in'F-ig. 14;.

To facilitate and expedite mixing of the aggregates, I provide the shell section 35, which in the present instance is the removable section, with longitudinally disposed blades 65 rigidly secured at their terminals to the end wallsof said shell section, also I provide the latter with pairs of spaced parallel rods 66 rigidly secured at their outer ends tothe side walls of the same, which rods extend radially into the shell 33 a predetermined distance and have their inner ends connected by relatively short blades 67. lVhile I have illustrated the blades 65 as being substantially parallel to the axis of the shell 33 and the blades 67 as substantially parallel to the axial line of the trunnion ring 38 and stub shaft 42, it is to be understood that such blades may be otherwise arranged or disposed if deemed expedient.

Integrally formed upon or otherwise" rigidly connected to the periphery oft-he trunnion ring 38 is an annular sprocket wheel 68 connected by a sprocket chain 69 to a sprocks etpinion 7 0 rigidly secured to the rear end I of a longitudinally and medially disposed stub shaft 71 journalled for rotation in a bearing 72 depending from the arched forward end of the supplemental frame 27, see

Figs. 4 and 5.

Thestub shaft 71 is adapted to be normally and operatively connected atiits forward end by a. dental clutch 7 3 to the rear end of an axially aligned shell driving shaft 74 journalled for rotation adjacent its ends in bearings 75'rigidly secured to'a transversely disposed base plate 76 similarly secured at its ends to the sides of the chassis frame 20. Splined for rotation with and for axial movement upon the shaft 74 between the bearings 75, is a spur gear 77 adapted to normally mesh with a spur pinion 78 and to be moved out of and into mesh therewith by a hand lever or shipper 7 9 pivot-ally mounted as at 80, upon the base plate 76.

The spur pinion 7 8 is rigidly secured, substantially midway its length, to a driving shaft 81 for the mechanism adapted to effect tilting ofthesupplemental frame 27 and its correlated shell 33, which mechanism will be hereinafter described, said driving shaft 81 being journalled for rotation adjacent its rear end in a bearing 82 and at its forward end in a gear housing 83, both of which are rigidly secured to the base plate 7 6, see Figs. 6 and 7. a r c Journalled for rotation at its upper end within the gear housing 83 and connected thereat by bevel gearing 84 to theshaft 81 is a substantially vertically disposed jack I provide the door 58 with a rubber gasket 64 which abuts or shaft 85, which is similarly journalled at its lower end within a gear housing 86 mounted upon a driving shaft 87 extending outwardly and rearwardly from the power take-off 25, said shafts 85 and 87 being connected within the housing 86 by bevel gearing 88. The gear housings 83 and 86 are adapted to be rigidly interconnected by a sleeve or tube 89, which serves and functions as a housing for the ack shaft 85, all as more clearlyshown in Fig. 7 On different makes of trucks the distance between the centers of the shafts 81 and 87 may vary; this is compensated for by providing jack shafts 85' and sleeves 89 of the proper length for the particular make of truck. Also on trucks of different makes the axis of the shaft 87 may be offset, right or left, from the vertical plane of the axis of the shaft 81; this is compensated for by disposing the jack shaft 85 and its correlated sleeve 89 at the necessary angle from such vertical plane required by the particular installation and partially rotating the gear housing 86 upon its shaft 87 to correspond.

Referring to the mechanism for tilting the supplemental frame 27, which will now be described, the rear end of its driving shaft 81 is connected by a clutch 90 to a stub shaft 91 journalled for rotation within. a bearing 92 rigidly secured to the base plate 76, said clutch 90 being actuated by a hand lever or shipper 93 pivotally mountedas at 93 upon the base plate 76.

The stub shaft 91 at its rear end is connected by a universal oint 941 to a downwardly and rearwardly directed tail shaft 95 which is journalled for rotation adjacent its rear end within a transversely disposed channel or brace member 96 rigidly secured at its ends to the sides of the chassis frame 20, at a point thereon substantially midway between the drivers cab 22 and the rear end of said chassis frame.

The rear end of the tail shaft r-earwardly of the channel member 96, is connected by bevel gearing 97 to a relatively short transversely disposed shaft 98 journalled for rotation in bearings 99 rigidly secured to and extending outwardly and rearwardly from said channel member, see Fig. 6. The inner end of the shaft 98 is adapted to be connected by bevel gearing 100 to a sleeve nut 101 journalled for rotation within a collar 102 pivotally mounted, as at 103, within bearings 104 rigidly secured to the channel member 96, the axis of said sleeve nut being preferably disposed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the chassis frame 20, as shown more clearly in Fig. 6.

Extending axially through and threadedly engaged for rectilinear movement within the sleeve nut 101 is a tilting" shaft 105 having a coarse or worm thread cut therein, which shaft ext-ends forwardly from said sleeve nut through an opening 106 in the transverse channel member 96 and at its forward end is provided with a reduced portion 107 and a terminal head 108, so that when said shaft has reached the limit of rearward travel by reason of its head 108 abutting the sleeve nut 101, the reduced portion 107 being at that time within the said sleeve nut permits the latter to idle, in the event the operator omits to disconnect the tail shaft 95 from the driving shaft, 81, thus obviating any damage to the tilting mechanism. The threaded tilting shaft 105 extends outwardly and rearwardly from the sleeve nut 101 and has its rear terminal 109 pivotally connected, as at 110, to a suitably braced, transversely disposed member designated generally by the numeral 111, which member at its outerends is rigidly secured to the sides of the supplemental frame 27. In the present instance as will be observed by referring particularly to Figs. 6, '8 and 9, the member 111 is preferably fabricated from a series of sections, but, it is to be understood that the same may be constructed in any other suitable form, the present showing being merely by way of illustration.

From the foregoing description and by referring to Figs. 6 and 7, it is to be noted that the shell 33 is selectively rotated and tilted by the power plant of the vehicle through the medium of the power takepfi shaft 87. During mixing operations and except when the shell is to be tilted for dumping the clutch 90 of the tilting mechanism is disengaged, to thus render the latter inactive. During charging of the shell 33 the gear 77, if desired, may be disengaged from its correlated pinion 78, but, this is not necessary, as'the lever, not shown, of the power take-off 25 may be moved to a neutralposition and thus render its shaft 87 inactive.

Rigidly secured to the trackways 26, at points thereon substantially midway their length, are inclined planes or wedge-shaped members28, which conjointly with the tilting mechanism and the moving pivot 32 traveling in the arcuate slots 31 effect and permit rearward tilting of the supplementalframe 27 and its correlated shell in a manner hereinafter more fully described.

In operation of the apparatus, when the same is employed as a transit mixer, the shell 33 is positioned under a batching chute with the doors 46 and 58 at their highest point of elevation and with either or both of said doors open, this permits rapid and ready charging of the shell 33 with the desired quantity and proportion of aggregates, fol

lowing which the necessary quantity of water is added thereto, and the door or doors tightly closed in an obvious manner. The transit mixer is then started for its destination.

90, disengaged mixing of the aggregates may be commenced immediately upon leaving the point of supply, or at a proper distance from the point of delivery, by the vehicle driver manipulating the lever, not shown, ofthe power take-01f in a known manner, whereat rotative movement is imparted to the shell 33 through the media of-thebevel, spur and sprocket gearing hereinbefore described, which rota-tive movement of said. shell also causes end to end wobbling of the same due to itseccentric mounting. As the shell 33 rotates and wobbles the flat sides of the same conjointly with the blades 65 and 6'? function due to rotative movement to carry the aggregates on the bottom upwardly and dump or slump such aggregates upon and.

into the upper aggregates, and coincident-at ly and concurrently therewith the endwise wobbling movement of such shell causes slumping of the aggregates from the ends of the shell to the center of same, all of which effects and produces a thorough and intinmte intermixture of the entire charge of aggregates in both a lateral and long1tu.linal direction, and materially lessens any tendency of the materials to segregate. Upon reaching the point of delivery, or upon completion of the mixing operation, the shell is stopped with its doors 46 and 58 in the dumping position indicated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, by disengaging the gear 7'? from the pinion 73. The clutch 90 is then engaged to effect rotation of the sleeve nut 101, through the medium of the shaft-ing and bevel gearing hereinbefore described, which rotation of said sleeve nut causes rearward axial movement of the threaded shaft 105 mounted therein, which in turn imparts reawar'd movement to the supplemental frame 27, initial rearward movement of which causes automatic disengagement of the dental clutch 7 3. As the frame 2'2 continues to move rearwardly the central set of rollers 29 thereof ride up the inclined planes 28 and simultaneouslytherewith the frame pivot rollers 32 roll downwardly within their arcuate slots 31, cansing the frame 27 and its shell 33 to tilt, substantially to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1; Either or both doors 46 and 58 are then opened to discharge the load, following discharge the door or doors are closed and the supplemental fr: me 27 with its shell 33 is returned to a normal position by the operator reversing the rotation of the sleeve nut 101 through manipulation of the power takeoff control lever, not shown. As the frame 27 and shell 33 return to the mixing position,

= the dental clutch 73 is automatically engaged, following which the clutch 90 is disengaged by the operator manipulating its hand lever 93, the gear 77 again meshed with the pinion 78 by similar manipulation of the lever 7 9, following which the power take-oil control lever moved to neutral position and the transit mixer returned to the point of supply for the next load.

In operation of the apparatus the shell 33 may be revolved ineither direction during transit of the truck, or while standing, the present arrangement providing at all times controlled revolution of the shell in either direction from the gears, not shown, ofthe power take-oil, also providingvarious speeds and a neutral position, through'manipulw' tion by the driver of the aforementioned power take-off control lever, not shown.

When times are dull in concrete construction'work, or when the operator of the ap paratus is in need of a dump truck for general haulage work, the section with its cor-- related blade structure is detached from the section 34, which then functions as a dump body and is especially adaptable for hauling bulk materials such as sand, gravel, stone, coal, lumber, Or: the like. When used as a dump body the sect-ion 34 is positioned sub stantially as shown in Fig. 2, with its doors 46 and 58 in registration with the A-frame 44. The section or dump body 24 is moved into and out of dumping positions in identically the same manner, as thathereinbefore described for the shell 33.

i By fabricating the shell 33 in the hexagonal formation, eccentrically mounting same, and disposing its doors when discharging at their lowest point, all in the manner herein shown and described, it will be manifest and apparent that discharge of the material will be materially aided and assisted by reason of the fact that all the wall panels adjacent said doors slope downwardly in the general direction thereof.

The present apparatus is equally valuable whether used as a conveyor or transporter, in shell or dump body form, for conveying or transporting ready mixed concrete from a central mixing plant. or in shell form, as a transit mixer, for dry materials with water added prior to leaving the point of supply, or when water tanks are carried by the appara tus and the water is added to the dry materials enroute or at destination. 1

Manifestly, the present mixer may be employed for mixing materials other than concrete, therefore, the term concrete mixer in the appended claims is to be construed to include any mixer of the general character described whether used for mixing concrete or other materials. v

WVhile I have herein shown and described the invention with sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to which it pertains to understand the mode of construction and the principles involved, it is to be understood that there is no intentional limitation herein to the specific form and precise details of construction shown and described, except as eX- pressed by the appended claims, and that vahicle chassis, a sectional concrete mixing shell revolvably mounted thereon, one of the sections of said shell being removable for utilizin g the remaining section as a dump body, said remaining section having an opening formed in the Walls thereof adaptable for charging and discharging the shell during concrete mixing operations and for discharging the contents of the dump body When said section is used as such, a closure for said opening, means for detachably connecting the shell sections, means for rotating the shell during concrete mining operations, and means for effecting discharge of the shell and dump body.

2. In combination With an automotive vehicle chassis, a sectional concrete mixing shell revolvably and tiltably mounted thereon, one of the sections of said shell being removable for utilizing the remaining section as a dump body, said remaining sect-ion having an opening formed in the Walls thereof for charging and discharging the shell during concrete mixing operations and for discharging the contents of the dump body When said section is used assuch, a closure for said opening, means for detachably connecting the shell sections, and means for selectively rotating said shell and for tilting the shell and dump body to effect discharge of same. I

3. In combination With an automotive vehicle'chassis, a tiltable frame mounted thereon, a sectional concrete mixing shell revolva bly mounted upon said frame, cradling rollers for revolvably supporting one end of said shell on said frame, a journal bearing for revolvably supporting the opposite end of said shell on said frame, means for detachably connecting the shell sections whereby one of the latter may be removed for utilizingthe remaining section as a dump body,

said remaining section having an opening formed in the Walls thereof for charging and discharging the shell during concrete mixing operations and for discharging the contents of the dump body when said section is used as such, a closure for said opening, means for rotating said shell, and means for tilting said frame.

HUGH P. PARIS. 

